Light and shadow in harmony with nature

A photographer's personal journey to destinations near and far, from Sri Lanka, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica to North America…. A journey that captures memorable vistas made magical by moments of evanescent natural harmony and a precious balance of form, light and shadow.
"Vistas - Moments in Time", Prasanna Amerasinghe's exhibition of fine art landscape photographic images from around the world will be held at the Lionel Wendt Harold Peiris Gallery on December 19, 20 and 21. Amerasinghe is now based in San Francisco, California.

The journey begins in the mist shrouded hill country of Sri Lanka with a visit to the romantic botanical gardens in Hakgala… followed by many a recurring visit to the breathtaking and inspiring canyons carved by receding ice age glaciers within the renowned Yosemite National Park in California. The journey then continues to a number of memorable locations in the United States including visits to the magnificent blue ice cliffs of Glacier Bay Alaska and the remarkable red rock and lime stone formations of Arches and Canyonlands national parks in Utah.

The tour continues onward to South America where a series of images present the haunting beauty of the Patagonian Andes mountains of Argentina and Chile, the simmering volcanic lava beds of Costa Rica and the mysterious lost kingdom of an ancient Inca civilization in Central Peru. After presenting a number of images from Europe, the photographer returns to Asia to capture the solitude, peace and harmony of a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.

The 50 gallery sized images ranging from 24" x 32" to a wide format panoramic 24" x 42", were captured by Amerasinghe over a period of 15 years primarily on 50 ASA Fuji slide film using 35mm, panoramic and medium format camera equipment. After many years of exhibiting and selling his work as Cibachrome and R-Type prints, he has recently moved on to take advantage of the latest developments in digital equipment and printmaking techniques now available to professional photographers.

All prints in this exhibition were created by the photographer by making ultra high resolution film and drum scans of the original slide film. The scans were then subject to critical colour balancing and corrections using digital darkroom techniques and printed on a colour calibrated, accurately profiled wide format digital printer. This modern and refined workflow has given him critical control of all creative stages of the fine art print making process… as is evident from the images presented in this exhibition.

"Vistas - Moments in Time" will open on December 19, at 6:30p.m. with a special preview hosted by the artist for ticket holders to the classical piano recital by concert pianist Sujeeva Hapugalle at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. The exhibition will continue on December 20 and 21.

Musical journey from classical to impressionist composers
Concert pianist Sujeeva Hapugalle's "Piano Recital" on December 19 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre will explore a wide range of emotions, moods, musical poetry and styles of the Classical, Romantic and Impressionist composers.

Described as 'a pianist of rare calibre' by the Beethoven Society of Europe, Sujeeva Hapugalle has been highly acclaimed for her versatile presentations as solo recitalist, concerto artiste and lecture recitalist.

Her recent concert tours have taken her to Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East and South East Asia often combined with Master Classes. Her musical communication and artistry have earned her wide recognition and a special affinity with diverse international audiences.

Sujeeva studied as a scholar at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was a major prize winner. During her years in UK, she performed at prestigious venues throughout the country. Amongst other festivals, she has been a frequent solo artiste for the Chopin Society and the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe in their concert series in London at St. Martin in the Fields.

She has broadcast on Classic FM UK and BBC Television and has also been a keen performing supporter for selected charities in the UK at gala charity concerts and as a selected artiste for Sir Yehudi Menuhin's "Live Music Now" series. She was recently included in the internationally coveted Steinway Concert Artist Roster.

Her discography includes two Compact Discs recorded by London's Classical Recording Company at the prestigious St John's Smith Square London concert hall.
The evening will also highlight a pre-concert preview of an "Exhibition of Fine Art Landscape Photographic Images by Prasanna Amerasinghe" - at the Lionel Wendt Harold Peiris Gallery from 6:30 p.m. (Please see page 11 for details on the exhibition).Sujeeva's concert is sponsored by Delmege Forsyth & Company Limited.